Non-refillable bottle



(No Mddel.)

' A. H. MBEGH.

y NoN-REFILLABLB BOTTLE. No. 592,157. -Patented Oct. 19,1897.

'A unioni.

PATENT ALFRED H. MEEOH, OF OHATHAM, NEW YORK.

NON-R-E'FILLAIBLE BOTTLE.

sPncIFrcATroNJforming para of Letters Patent No. 592,157, dated october 19, 1897.

I Application filed February 27, 1897. Serial No. 625,397. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom t may concern,.- l

Beit known that I, ALFRED H. MEECH, a citizen of -the United States, residingat Chatham, in the county'of Columbia and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in vNon-Refillable Bottles, of which the following is a specification.

This inventionrrelates to that class or type of non-refillable bottles wherein a separate bottle-neck is connected with the bottle-body and a ball-valve is employed which permits the contents of the bottle to be discharged, but prevents the'introduction Vof a liquid or substance into the bottle-body, so that it is impracticable to introduce an inferior liquid or substance into the bottle after the original contents has been discharged. y l

The chief objects'of my present invention are to vimprove the prior construction of bottles of the character referred to to provide a new and improved non-rellable bottle, and to provide novel,"simple, efcient," and ecol nomical means for connecting a separate bottle-neck with a bottle-body in such manner that the bottle can be readily filled while the neck is detached therefrom and the neck when appliedcannot possibly be detached without such breakage of parts as vwould indicate or show that the package had been tampered with. These objects are accomplished in the manner and by the means hereinafter described and claimed, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in whichf 1 Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a nonrefillable bottle` constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the separate bottle-neck. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the screw collar or ring for rigidly connecting the bottle-neck to the bot'- tle-body. Fig. 4 is a broken side elevation of the bottle=body; and Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5 5, Fig. 1.

In order`toenable those skilled yin the art to make and use my invention, Iwill now describe the same in detail, referring vto the drawings, wherein; A

The numeral 6 indicates Y a bottle-body which maybe of any desired form or shape. This bottle-body is formed with an external screw-thread 7 and directly above the same it is constructed .with two opposite chambers or recesses 8, designed to contain spring-pawls, each of which is composed of an approximately U-shapedpiece of elastic metal having two arms or members 9 and 10, one of which lies in one of the chambers or recesses and abuts an end portion thereof, as best seen in Fig. 5, while theother is adapted to spring into engagement with vratchet-teeth formed on the interior of a collar or ring, as will more fully hereinafter appear. .y

The top portion of .the bottle-body is contracted and extended into :a vertical cylindrical cage 12, having an orifice 13 in its upper end and lateral orifices 14 in its sides. The lower portion of the cage 12 is made concave, as at 15, to constitute a valve-seat for a ball-valve 16, which is adapted to be inserted into the cage through either one of the lateral orifices 14. The ballvalve is prevented from passing out of the cage through either of the lateral orices 14 through the medium of a packing-ring 17, which is fitted to the upper end of the bottle-body around the cage and is of such height that it projects above the lower edges ofthe openings 14, thus offering obstructions to the exit of the ballvalve from the cage, as the diameter of the ball renders it impossible for it to pass through either orifice 14 after the packing-ring 17 has been fitted into position, as clearly shown in Fig. v1. The packing-ring 17 is preferably composed of a disk-shaped piece of cork with a central orifice, but it may be of any material suitable for the purpose, and'it is adapted to tightly fit into the lower end of a separate bottle-neck 1S, designed to receive an ordinary cork 19 in its upper end. The cork or other packing-disk17 makes an air-tight connection between the bottle-neck and the bottlebody when these parts' are connected together. The lower end of the bottle-neck is provided with' an lexternal screw-thread 20, and itis rigidly connected with the bottlebody through the medium of a collaror ring 21, having right and left hand screw-threads 22, designed to engage, respectively, -the* screw-threads 20 of the bottle-neck andthe screwthreads 7 of the bottle-body. The cir-= cular portion of the ring or collar lying between the screwthreads 22 is formed inter- IOO nally with an annular row of ratchet-teeth 23, the construction being such that when the collar or ring is screwed into position it draws the bottle-neck and the bottle-body tightly together and the elastic arms 10 of the springpawls spring into engagement with the ratchet-teeth 23, thereby efteetually preventing the collar or ring from being unserewed when it has been screwed into position to rigidly connect the bottle-neck with the bottlc-body.

The exterior of the collar or ring is preferably constructed with recesses, as at 2i, for the application of a suitable instrument by which to screw the collar or ring into position.

In order to prevent the bottle-neck from being unscrewed from the collar or ring after the parts have been properly connected, I construct the top portion of the bottle-body with opposite sockets 25, adapted to receive pendent lugs or projections 2G on the lower end of the bottle-neck. As the collarvor ring is screwed into position the bottle-neck and the bottle-body will be drawn together and the lugs or projections 2V will enter the sockets 25, thereby preventing any rotary motion of the bottle-neck independent et the bottlebody. It will be obvious, therefore, that the bottle-neck is permanently and rigidly connected with the bottle-body, and since the ball-valve permits outflow of liquid or substa-nce from the bottle-body, but prevents inilow of liquid or substance thereinto, it is im practicable to reiill the bottle after the original contents has been discharged.

This bottle is particularly designed for containing catsup, which is a comparatively thick-bodied substance which will not readily iiow through very contracted passages. For this reason I construct the cage in the manner described and shown, so that it the bottle be tilted er turned upside down the catsup will readily flow out through the lateral oriices 1i into a comparatively large space surrounding the cage.

Although I have described and shown the screw-threads on the bottle-neck and bottlebody and in the ring or collar as right and left screw-threads, I do not wish to be understood as restricting myself to right and left hand screw-threads.

My invention provides a novel, simple, efficient, and economical bottle which will permit the contents to be readily discharged' whenever desired, but renders it impracticable to refill the bottle with an inferior substance and represent it as the original package. It an attempt is made to Iill the bottle while it stands upright, the ball-valve will tightly seat upon the valve-seat l5 and thus prevent the entrance of a liquid or substance into the bottle-body. If the bottle is turned approximately horizontal and an attempt is made to force a liquid or substance into the bottle-body, the liquid or substance will enter the orifice 13 and float or force the ballvalve 16 to its seat.

IIaving thus described my invention, what I claim is l. The combination with a bottle-bod y, and a separate bottle-neck, each having a screwthreaded portion,of an external screw-threaded collar connecting the bottle-neck with the bottle-bod y, a spring-pawl and ratchet engaging said neck and body and preventing the collar from being turned backward to unscrew the parts, and a ball-valve arranged in the bottle-body to permit discharge of the contents from, but prevent the introduction of a liquid or substance into the bottle-body, substantially as described.

2. The combination withabottle-body, and a separate bottle-neck,provided,respectively, with right and left hand external screwthreads, of an external right and left hand screw-threaded collar engaging the right and lett hand screw-threads of the bottle-neck and bottle-body, a spring-pawl and ratchet Y engaging said neck and body and preventing the collar from being unscrewed, a cage extending from the bottle-body into the bottleneck and constructed with lateral and end orifices, and a ball-valve arranged in said cage, substantially as described.

3. The combination with a bottle-bodyhaving at its top portion chambers or recesses and a cage provided with lateral orifices, spring-pawls arranged in said chambersor recesses, a separate bottle-neck, a ball-valve in the cage, means for retaining the ball-valve therein, a screw-threaded collar engaging the bottle-neck and bottle-body and provided with an internal ratchet with which the springpawls engage, and means for preventing the bottle-neck from being turned independent of the bottle-body, substantially as described.

4. The combination with an externallyscrew-threaded bottle-body and an externallyscrew-threaded bottle-neck, of spring-pawls seated on the bottle-body, and a screw-threaded collar engaging the screw-threads of the bottle-neck and bottle-body and provided with an internal annular row of ratchet-teeth with which the spril'ig-pawls engage, substantially as described.

5. The combination with a bottle-body having at its top portion a cage provided with lateral oriiiees, a packing-ring surrounding the cage, a ball-valve insertible through one of said orifices and retained in the cage by said packing-ring, a bottle-neck closed at its lower end by said packing-ring, and rmeans for connecting the bottle-neck with the bottlebody, substantially as described.

(3. The eombin ation with a bottle-bodyhaving at its top portion chambers or recesses and a cage provided with lateral orifices, a ball-valve arranged in the cage, a packingring surrounding the cage, a bottle neck closed at its lower end by said packing-ring, spring-pawls arranged in said chambers or recesses, and a screw-threaded collar connecting the bottle-neck with the bottle-body and provided with an internal ratchet with which IOO IIO

the spring-pawls engage, substantially as described.

"7. The combination with a bottle-body having at its top portion sockets, and a cage provided with lateral orices,springpaw1s seated in the bottle-body, a separate bottle -neck having lugs or projections to enter said sockets, and a screw-threaded col-lar connecting lthe bottle-neck and bottle-body, and having an internal ratchet with Which the spring- Io pawls engage, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of -tWo subscribing Witnesses.

A. H. MEECH.

Witnesses:`

ALBERT I-I. NoRRIs, F. B. KEEFER.. 

